NYPD Can’t Arrest UN Diplomat Wife-Beater

A foreign diplomat from Germany living in New York has been reported for beating his wife – but police are powerless to stop him because he has “diplomatic immunity.”

Joachim Haubrichs, 56, lives in New York City’s Upper East Side with his wife, Henna Johnson, 35. Haubrichs is currently an assistant attache to Germany’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, and the couple have lived in the U.S. a little over a year.

He and Johnson have no children, and have reportedly moved around the world several times. They have been married for 16 years and met in Pakistan, where she is from. He also reportedly controls her with an iron fist – literally.

Johnson called the New York police Monday evening to say that Haubrichs had hit her and given her a black eye – all because she used her cell phone after his 7:30 cut-off time.

But Haubrichs benefits from diplomatic immunity, so the police couldn’t touch him.

Lawyer Brian Bieber said diplomatic immunity is only waived in serious felony cases, such as murder, rape, terrorism or financial fraud.

A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. could require Haubrichs to leave the country if his immunity is not waived.

“He’s very controlling. At 7:30 pm the cell phone should be off. I’m not supposed to talk to anyone. Then 8:30 pm. is bedtime. Whether I like it or not, I have to be in bed,” Johnson told the New York Post Wednesday.

Johnson said she was texting a Friend when Haubrichs lashed out on Monday evening.

‘But because he’s so jealous, he starts screaming. I sat on the couch, he started throwing pillows. That made things worse.’

The couple went into their bedroom. There, Johnson said, her husband hit her ‘against the wall’ and she hit her head.

But NYPD officers have said they cannot investigate Haubrichs, who as a diplomat benefits from immunity.

In no situation is it acceptable to apprehend someone who, like Haubrichs, as diplomatic immunity, an NYPD spokesperson told the New York Post.

All they could do was offer to take Johnson to a hotel or to get her medical attention. She declined both offers.

Johnson has since been in touch with the NYPD and with Mayor Bill De Blasio’s office. She said the mayor’s office has urged her to reach out to a shelter for victims of domestic violence – an option she has declined.

Reportedly, the next morning Haubrichs was apologetic and said he couldn’t remember a thing about the previous evening’s abuse.